
Walker Brigade
If Only (Big Stir)
https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/if-only
Having secured the reputation as a sizzling hot live act, Walker Brigade will finally be releasing their anxiously-anticipated first full-length album. Available May 27th, “If Only” includes offerings from most of the Los Angeles band’s 2017 mini-album, “Animal Therapy,” plus digital download singles previously issued by the Big Stir label, as well as new material and bonus tracks.
Consisting of vocalists and guitarists Tracy Walker and Jeff Charreaux, bassist Mark Fletcher and drummer Craig Tykra, Walker Brigade produces an immensely powerful sound that blends artsy punk incentives with jarring pop rock maneuvers. Brandishing both ability and attitude, the band thrives on the kind of paranormal rapport found in uniquely great groups.
Piloted by a feral intensity, “If Only” is a noisy but wonderously melodic affair, with songs such as “No,” “Tower,” “Fallout,” “Disease” and “Choker” zoning in on Walker Brigade’s flair for fusing nail-biting tempos and expressions with user-friendly undercurrents. Split somewhere between quirky roots rock and hook-happy garage punk, the cocky swagger of “V.D. Doll” and the loose-limbed rumble of “Fancy Boots” plug in as further winners on the album, along with the properly titled “Shake Shimmy,” which hustles and bustles to a hip-grinding beat.
Awash with shifting rhythms, pinching breaks and tantalizing twists and turns as a whole, “If Only” discharges one surprise after another. But a cover of “I’m Tired” – which was initially sung by Madeline Kahn in the 1974 box office blockbuster “Blazing Saddles” – testifies to be an especially unexpected treat. Tracy’s vocal performance on the tart and raunchy cabaret corker is absolutely phenomenal, as her phrasing, range and passion is stretched to extremes.
A rendition of Wire’s kinetic “Sand In My Joints” also appears on “If Only,” while the gig wraps up with a number not listed on the set. Slyly coined, “Rock And Roll Toilet” makes the Sex Pistol seem tame by comparison. Devised of two grungy chords, a hoarse growl and super trashy drumming, the hidden cut is the real thing – just like Walker Brigade. Raw, authentic and pulsing with mind-exploding singing and playing, “If Only” may have been worth the wait, but let’s hope the band’s next album arrives sooner than later!